All Questions for

Glendale Community College-Glendale, CA

What should every freshman at your school know before they start?

Dear Past Grazian,
I advice you to take everything seriously. I know that senioritis is kicking in, but don't give up. You should have taken your English class more seriously, so that you would be placed in a higher English level in your college, and fulfill your prerequisites. For your last year of high school, you should have also taken Calculus. If you have taken that class, you could have been taking a higher level of Math as well. I also advise you to start looking at majors, and possible schools to transfer. You should have used sites such as assist.org to plan your path. Furthermore, you should start learning how to take in information, just by reading and taking notes. Learn how to be more responsible, and not rely on others. Do your OWN work, and not others. Use your time wisely. Every hour counts. Also, I know that you are an unpatient person, but you need to start letting go of that. You need to realize that a lot of hard work, requires patience and discipline. I hope that you become a successful and remember to not give up, and strive for more.
Sincerely,
Grazian

Since I was little, I always thought of myself as a businessperson. If I were to attend the right college then I would try my hardest to succeed in business. In order for me to succeed, I would dedicate half of my life to studying and learning the right way. If I were to go back in time and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would advise myself to make an educational plan before attending college. This particular plan will insist of hard work, time, and dedication to reach the goal I have been dreaming to have. I would mention that without a plan, there is likely a chance of failure. Once you realize you are unable to accomplish that goal, you know that you have failed. Why fail when you can be prepared with a plan leading to success. I would also advise the right college to attend for this particular business major. Education is recommended if you want the right career to provide financial support for your future. In addition, I would teach several ways to access grants, scholarships, and overall benefits when attending college. Advising myself will help tremendously to prepare for college.

Have you had your time? Good! Now get ready to start school! There are three crucial points that you should know when you enter college: plan ahead, work hard constantly and never fall behind, and be prepared to put yourself to test. First of all, plan ahead which includes choose your major before you enter college and organize your schedule of classes that you will be taking during your stay in collge. Work hard constantly and never fall behind! You have no time to take breaks and mess around. Even falling back one class will hurt you and might be the reason why your stay in college will be prolonged. Do not risk carelessness of making up classes that you gave up on early. Most importantly, be ready to put all that YOU have taught yourself in high school into test when you enter college. High school was a time and place where you got to teach yourself the skills required to be successful in college. For example, you have spent all these years studying for different classes and by now you should have already figuered out and mastered the best technique for you to study for your classes.

Wow, If I could go back in time to give myself advice as a high school senior, the list could go on and on. I was my senior class president, and what every leader, big or small struggles with, is to make everyone else pleased before themselves. And, as I have found out leadership is a very selfless position. The major thing I would change now that I look back would be to live a little more. Time after time I found myself strapped for making my fellow peer's senior year enjoyable that I never stopped to realize my personal needs were being put to the test. It was not until I was starting college when I realized that everything that I did was an awesome feat, but that feeling of self-actualization and fufillment was buried by endless paperwork, stress, and lack of time for the normal things teenagers do. Granted I have made some great friends doing what I did, but i feel that I should have focused more on myself. Maybe I would have found my passion quicker if I looked more into it during my high school years. However, we can not regret the past.

Much of what I have learned since I graduated high school are things I wish I could have had revelation about before I had to experience them first hand. If I could go back, the advice I would give myself is, "Shannon. You have to learn to do everything with integrity."
I have had the opportunity to experience things that most people my age wont experience until they are done with college. I have had the opportunity to see people in the corporate world and unfortunately I have seen the unethical ways that people act. I have learned the difference between doing something for someone else and doing something to help make the world a better place. I have learned that if you do things with integrity-and people don't agree with you, at least you know you're doing the right thing.
If I could go back in time I would love to tell myself that. I believe that if more people lived their life with integrity we would have far less problems and it would be much easier to work together. I want to help change the world-and I want to do it with integrity.

If i had the ability to give myself some advice in the past before I entered college it would of definately have been to learn how to drive! The bus is a torture in East LA! I spent 5 dollars everyday on a "TAP" card to transport myself to and from college. Sometimes I deprive myself lunch because I can't afford to spend tommorrow's transportation money. Even though a car is by comparison far too expensive it would of made a difference on rainy days traveling four hours from East LA to Glendale College (especially for me because I get car sick). The second advice I definately struggeled without in my transition was my lack of cooking skills. In my first months in college, there were days when i starved because I couldn't cook and therefore couldn't take a meal with me to school. I knew the situation with money in my home was "tight" and couldn't work up the nerve to ask my mother for lunch money. If i would of known how to drive and was capable of cooking my own meals I would of definately had a confortable first year in college!

If I could go back 14 years ago and give myself advice on education and what to do with my life. Here is what I would tell myself. Angela, you are on the right track and heading in the right direction. You are graduating high school early and have been awarded a scholarship for 1 year. You did the right thing on taking all of your general education requirements because when you decide to go back to school this will help you in pursuing your dream. Cosmetology school was a great idea and it's a wonderful trade to know and will help you while you are back in school. But there is more for you to achieve, do not wait to long to go back to school because the more time that goes on the harder it will become. You'll find that through your journey that you can not put a price on education and no one can take that away from you. Remember to always make sure that you are constantly learning, even from your mistakes. ?The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn - and change" written by, Carl Rogers.

Maturity and time management are two concepts which as a high school student, I didn't understand but are vital in the college. These two concepts are what not only allow you to pass your classes, but learn. As a high school student, I only thought about passing the class and not learning which was a mistake which I regret but realized. High school should prepare you for college but I didn't feel it did simply because I was immature. I didn't care about school nor did I see the benefits from it. It isn't until after graduation when a new mindset sets in. One of which is not only mature, but wise. All our flaws come out and we try to fix them. As a high school student, I should have taken tougher classes including AP classes, make a schedule of the day every day, and do anything in my power to get involved in my community making my resume/experience seems more attractive to prestige colleges and universities. Humans aren't perfect but it's the ability to learn from our mistake which makes our species great.

If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to go to a community college first, then transfer to a University because I made the mistake of going straight to a University. After thirteen years of public school where it is the teachers' and your parents' job to make sure you are present everyday and pass their class, the transition into college life is a drastic one. At the University, the proffesors are not as strict on attendance and do not babysit you and hold your hand so you can pass their class. Also, my parents were not to be held responsible if I should decide to skip class. I wish I would have attended my classes every day because I took advantage of my proffesors' lack of discipline and did not pass half of my classes. I then changed my major and transfered to a community college where the proffesors are only strict on attendance because of the cuts in classes. I would recommend junior colleges to students because they are a small step towards independence as opposed to a giant leap.

If I could go back and talk to myself as a high school senior, I would have the following advice: follow your passion. I let a well-intentioned person talk me out of going for my intended major which was communications. I was told that finding a job in such a field would be tough and that it was best if I chose something else. So I did. I watched my GPA plummet and two years later I stopped going to class. When I decided to go back to school, I did so with communications as my major. School life became much easier, homework wasn't work, my GPA improved and I graduated eventually.
I would also tell my younger self to make the time to study and come to class prepared. It really doesn't take that much and your GPA will reap the results. Now that I'm back in school after having been away for so many years, I'm getting better grades than when I was younger. So in a way, I've been able use the wisdom gathered at college all those years ago. And it's a good thing I'm listening to myself.

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